Worried About Everything Because I Pray About Nothing by Chad Veach

Veach's book is perhaps the most realistic, compassionate yet encouraging book on prayer I have ever read. Talking with God should be easy, right? Anybody can do it. If we want to be effective in prayer and transformed by it, however, we need to learn to do so. That takes practice and experience.

I like that Veach clarifies that prayer as such is not to be our goal. A vital relationship with God is the goal and prayer gets us on that path. Veach helps us understand what prayer does in, through and for us. Instead of praying to get out of difficulties, for example, Veach encourages us to pray to grow through those times.

I like the straightforward way Veach writes, adding a bit of humor from time to time. I like his pithy sayings. “Don't ask God to guide your steps if you're not ready to get off the couch.” (36) His writing style, often one sentence paragraphs, yields lots of white space on the page.

This is a thinking person's book. I don't mean it is academic. I do mean one must stop and think deeply about what Veach teaches. I was introduced to a new concept, for example, called spiritual bypassing. That teaching gave me much to think about.

This is a good book for Christians, new and old, who want to experience prayer as “raw and real, authentic and honest, unscripted and unrestrained.” (171)

You can read an excerpt here.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Chad Veach (www.zoechurch.org) is the founder and lead pastor of Zoe Church, a dynamic community in the heart of Los Angeles, California, a dynamic community in the heart of Los Angeles. For the past 20 years he has dedicated his life to ministry and preaching the Gospel. In addition to leading Zoe, he is an international speaker; the author of three books: Help! I Work With People, Faith Forward Future, and Unreasonable Hope; and the host of Leadership Lean In, a top-charting leadership podcast. Chad and his wife, Julia, reside in Los Angeles with their four children: Georgia, Winston, Maverick, and Clive. Photo Credit: © Nate Dumlao

Bethany House, 192 pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)